{"id":12747,"date":"2013-06-25T00:00:06","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T00:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=12747"},"modified":"2013-06-25T22:09:58","modified_gmt":"2013-06-25T22:09:58","slug":"album-review-witch-cross-axe-to-grind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-witch-cross-axe-to-grind\/","title":{"rendered":"WITCH CROSS – Axe To Grind (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

WITCH CROSS
Axe To Grind<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nHells Headbangers (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away \u2013 which I like to call the 1980s \u2013 there existed a Danish band called Witch Cross. These cult metalheads only ever released one platter, that being 1984\u2019s Fit For Fight<\/em> which, in heavy metal folklore, has become a somewhat sought after release in its original form.<\/p>\n

Despite several demo recordings Witch Cross never got the recognition they deserved. Maybe it was because of the amateurish artwork that graced their debut album cover, or simply due to the fact, like so many 80s bands, they were simply swallowed in the wave of metal mania with too many bands doing the same thing.<\/p>\n

However, almost 30 years later, Witch Cross are back, with three members from the 80s, Mike \u201cWlad\u201d Kock (guitar), Jan \u201cLittle John Field\u201d Normark (bass) and Lars \u201cTony Adams\u201d Bj\u00f8rnstad (drums), being joined on this new 11-track album by guitarist Paul Martin (aka Poul Martin Neilsen) and British vocalist Kevin Moore.<\/p>\n

Sure, the halcyon days are long gone \u2013 the lo-fi quality of that classic debut was very much of its time \u2013 but Axe To Grind<\/em> is still very much of that vintage variety and a decent little stab at that 80s style of fantasy-oriented metal.<\/p>\n

Witch Cross have always been about dungeons, dragons and evil forces lurking in every dark corner, so the cover art alone should no doubt draw you in, and only after staring at the sleeve for aeons can you fully appreciate the stuffy quality of such a band.<\/p>\n

The brief opening instrumental, \u2018March Of The Vikings\u2019, leads us straight into the murky depths of \u2018Demon In The Mirror\u2019, which features a sinister mid-paced riff and hard drum sound, but I\u2019m immediately drawn to Kevin Moore\u2019s vocals which remind me heavily of Saxon\u2019s Biff Byford. This is confirmed further by his performance on \u2018Ride With The Wind\u2019, a rollicking little number that is standard metal at its heart but features a magical little riff and dashing drum.<\/p>\n

The true anthem of the album though is the thumping \u2018Metal Nation\u2019, which features another killer riff and where Moore\u2019s vocals take on a rougher quality as he barks \u201cWe live together, we march together\u201d<\/em> over a molten riff. The guitars of Kock and Martin are worth their weight in gold, and for those who remain unconvinced then check out the steaming \u2018Awakening \u2013 Pandora\u2019s Box\u2019 and the pumping title track. These two tracks sound as if they\u2019ve been wrenched from the 80s, and despite being dusted down retain their original musty charm.<\/p>\n

Witch Cross are very much 80s metal, but what separates them from the average hordes of the day is the guitars. And while original vocalist Alex \u201cSavage\u201d Nyborg Madsen was more a Robert Plant-style (Led Zeppelin) crooner, Kevin Moore does a mighty fine job at filling his boots.<\/p>\n

The true heavyweight punchers of the record are the monstrous \u2018Part Of The Machine\u2019 and the strangely titled \u2018Chelsea 100\u2019, which is the weightiest track on the album. Both feature mighty riffs and ground-shaking cohesion until we are lead away from the darkness by the sweeping closing instrumental \u2018Beyond The Veil\u2019.<\/p>\n

Axe To Grind<\/em> is a welcome return to the scene for these cult metallers. I just hope they don\u2019t leave as long for the next one, otherwise they\u2019ll be giving Axl Rose (Guns N\u2019 Roses) a run for his money when it comes to the longest wait for a new album! So, overall, Axe To Grind<\/em> doesn\u2019t match the creaky quality of that debut, but it\u2019s still heavy metal at its most sincere.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WITCH CROSSAxe To Grind Hells Headbangers (2013)Rating: 7\/10 A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away \u2013 which I like to call the 1980s \u2013 there existed a Danish band called Witch Cross. These cult metalheads only ever released one platter, that being 1984\u2019s Fit For Fight which, in heavy metal folklore, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,620],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-witch-cross"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12747"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12754,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12747\/revisions\/12754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}